830 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



Bryan County, Georgia. Mr. William W. Adams found knuckle bones 

 in stone gravies opened by him in Williamson County, Tennessee. Thirty 

 or forty bones were found in perhaps a hundred graves. They were 

 always found in pots. Children's graves contained smaller pots, and 

 the bone was smaller, evidently from a small animal. Some were worn 

 until nearly smooth on the side, and all showed polish as though tliey 

 had been carried or used a long time. A number of specimens from 

 mounds are contained in tbe U. S. National Museum, as Cat. No. 63047, 

 astragalus of bison from a mound. Pecan Point, Mississippi County, 

 Arkansas, and Cat. No. 6304:7a, astragalus of deer from same place, 

 both collected by Mr. Edward Palmer. Three specimens (Cat. No. 

 61621) are from Lyons County, Kentucky; two others (Cat. No. 91145) 

 catalogued from Arkansas, are respectively of deer and bison; another 

 (Cat. No. 109518) is from Lepanto, Poinsett County, Arkansas. Some 

 of these bones are squared, so as to have six instead of four sides, many 

 are more or less cut down, and one is partly calcined. Mr. Cushing found 

 a number of knuckle bones of deer, several showing high polish from 

 long use, in the muck deposit explored by him at Marco, Florida. 



In England knuckle bones were formerly used in games.^ A single 

 bone was tossed and the four sides received, according to Dr. Hyde, 

 the following names :^ 



Siqnnum, " Put in." 

 Pronum, "Blank." 

 Planum, "Take half." 

 Tortiiosum, "Take all." 



These terms sutticiently explain the method of play. 



' Ue Ludis Orientallbus, p. 142. 



• Under the head of Cockall, Brand (Observation on Popular Antiquities, London, 

 1813, II, p. 288j gives the following account: 



In the English translation of Levinus Lenmius, fol. London, 1658, p. 368. we read: 



"The autients used to play Cockall or casting of huckle bones, which is done 

 with smooth sheep bones. The Dutch call them Pickelcn, wherewith our young 

 maids that are not yet ripe use to play for a husband, and young married folks 

 desjiise these as soon as they are married. But j^oung men use to coutend with 

 another with a kind of a bone taken forth of oxe-feet. The Dutch call them Oof en, and 

 they play with these at a set time of the year. Moreover Cockals, which the Dutch 

 call Teelings, are difit'erent from dice, for they are square with four sides, and dice 

 have six. Cockals are used by maids amongst us, and do no ways waste any one's 

 estate. For either they pass away the time with them, or if they have time to be 

 idle they play for some small matter, as for chestuuts, filberds, pins, buttons, and 

 some such 'juncats.' 



"In Langley's Abridgment of Polydor Vergile, fol. 1, we have another description 

 of this game: 'There is a game that is played with the posterne bone iu the hynder 

 foote of a sheepe, oxe, gote, fallowe, or redde dere, whiche in Latin is called Talus. It 

 hath foure chaunces, the ace point, that is named Cants, or Canicula, was one of the 

 sides. He that cast it leyed douue a peny or so muche as the gamers were agreed on ; 

 the other side was called Venus, that signifieth seven. He that cast the chaunce won 

 sixe and all that was layd doune for the castyug of Canis. The two other sides were 

 called Chins and Senio. He that did throwe Chius wan three. And he that cast 

 Senio gained four. This game (as I take it) is used of children in Northfolke, and 



